Chapter 19: Shattered Silence
The silence in the infirmary was broken only by the soft rustle of linens as I pulled the blanket tighter around my mother’s frail shoulders. Her breathing was shallow but even, her fever finally broken after three days of agony. Across the small cot-lined room, her sister dozed with her arms curled tightly to her chest, her dark hair stuck to her damp forehead. For the first time in weeks, they looked… safe.
Or so she’d thought.
When the door opened, Giselle knew something was wrong.
Rowan stood in the frame, his shoulders squared and jaw clenched so tight she could practically feel the tension vibrating off him. The moment their eyes met, a strange coldness trickled down her spine.
“Giselle,” he said, his voice low, hoarse—too calm. “We need to talk. It is urgent.”
Giselle glanced at her sister and mother one last time before nodding and slipping out of the room, her heart starting to hammer as she followed him down the corridor. They didn’t speak, but they didn’t need to.
Whatever had happened while Rowan was in the Elders’ chamber had carved a shadow across his usually stoic expression, showcasing his unease for Giselle to read.
When they entered his office, he shut the door behind them with more force than necessary, startling Giselle. She stopped in the middle of the room, and crossed her arms, steeling herself for what was to come.
“What happened?” She asked, more wary than afraid.
Rowan didn’t answer right away. He paced, fists clenched and unclenched at his sides. Finally, he stopped and turned to face her.
“They want to imprison you,” he said flatly. “You, your sister, and your mother.”
The words slammed into her like a physical blow. Giselle stared at him, trying to catch her breath, while trying to make sense of what he’d just said.
“What?” her voice cracked despite her best efforts. “Why?”
“They think…” He exhaled, scrubbing a hand down his face. “They think the rogues are closing in because of you. That you brought danger to our doorstep when I brought you to our pack.”
A rush of disbelief swelled in Giselle’s chest, followed quickly by something darker. Anger. Hurt. Fear.
“That’s not true,” she snapped. “You know that’s not true, Rowan. You know I’ve done nothing to betray you or this pack—”
“I do know that,” he cut in, his voice sharp. “But they don’t. And they don’t care about what I believe. They see you as a liability.”
She pressed my hands to my temples. This had to be a nightmare that she was soon to wake up from. “So what—what happens now? They lock us away? Treat us like criminals? After everything?”
Rowan hesitated. “Worse,” he said bitterly. “They wanted to eliminate you.”
Giselle staggered back as if she’d been struck. “No,” She breathed. They were supposed to be safe here–free. “No, they didn’t.”
“I stopped it,” he growled. “You’re still here because I stopped them. But I’m running out of leverage.”
The tears came before she could stop them, burning hot tracks down her cheeks. Giselle turned away from him, heart thundering so loud that she thought it might burst from her chest at any moment.
“All I’ve done,” I whispered. “All we’ve been through—and I’m still nothing more than a threat to them.”
Rowan came to stand behind her, his hand hovering near her shoulder, uncertain. “Giselle…”
“They’ll never accept me,” she said with conviction. “Even if you fight for me. Even if I’m your mate.” She turned to look at him, desperate and broken and angry all at once.
“Do you regret it?” She asked him, the words bitter on her tongue. “Do you wish it had been Rhea? Someone safer? Someone easier to control?”
His eyes flashed, wolf surging close to the surface. “Never,” he said, voice trembling with restraint. “You are mine. I’d burn this entire pack to the ground before I would let them hurt you.”
A sob choked its way up her throat. He caught her then, arms encircling around as she collapsed against his chest. His scent washed over her, grounding, fierce and familiar, and she clung to him as if she might break apart.
“I don’t want to run again,” she whispered. “But I won’t let them hurt my family, Rowan. I won’t survive watching them get punished because of me.”
“They won’t,” he promised fiercely. “Not while I’m still breathing.”
But even as he said it, she could feel the weight pressing down on them both. The impossible position they were in. The future they were trying to hold together while it frayed beneath their feet.
His grip tightened. She could feel his body tremble, hear the growl buried in his throat.
“My wolf…” he said quietly, “he wants to mark you now. To claim you in front of everyone and dare them to say you don’t belong.”
She looked up at him, wide-eyed. “But you can’t, can you?”
He smiled sadly, shaking his head. “No, I can’t. And besides, I want your first moment of peace here to be without blood.”
A long silence passed between us. “I’m scared, Rowan,” Giselle admitted suddenly.
“So am I,” he said. “But I believe in you. In us.”
A knock at the door shattered the quiet. Rowan stiffened instantly. When he didn’t move, I stepped away and opened it.
Rhea stood there, arms folded, her expression unreadable. “The Elders are gathering again,” she said. “They want their orders handed out… tonight.”
Rowan’s jaw clenched. “They won’t like my answer.”
She smiled—small, tired, but not cruel. “They rarely do.”
Then she looked at Giselle, her gaze softening. “Be ready,” she told me. “They’ll test you. Try to break you.”
“I won’t break,” she said, her shoulder’s straightening in a deviant way.
“I know,” Rhea replied. “That’s what scares them.” Then she turned and left, leaving Rowan and me in the silence again.
He pulled her back into his arms one last time. “Whatever happens next,” he said against her hair, “we face it together. Even if it feels like there is distance between us.”
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